Port Gets $3.93m To Boost Security

NEWPORT NEWS — The Hampton Roads authority is pleased that the federal grants total more than last year's.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that the Port of Hampton Roads would get $3.93 million in this year's port security grant program.

That's about 10.7 percent better than the $3.55 million that the region got in last year's round of grants.

"The region did well," Port Authority security director Ed Merkle said. "This is two rounds in a row that we've fared fairly well following their move to treat the port as one region." Before 2006, the department counted the port as two separate regions.

But as of Thursday night, the department still hadn't revealed how much each applicant in the local port -- from the Virginia Port Authority to private companies -- will receive.

Merkle checked several times Thursday afternoon to see whether the department had updated its Web site with the actual breakdown within each port.

The authority -- which runs terminals in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News -- had applied for $4.4 million in grants. Those would pay for security upgrades such as improved perimeter surveillance cameras, biometric readers for a new identification card system and updating the authority's emergency response plans, Merkle said.

The way the math works out, he said, "We think that the best we can do is two out of three."

It was unclear what other local entities applied for the grants.

In a separate Transit Security Grant program, the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry -- which runs between the Peninsula and Surry County -- received an award of $235,444. *